


Snowfall Steps

by Ashen_Serpent



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Affection, F/M, Français | French, Holding Hands, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Snowfall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28787310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashen_Serpent/pseuds/Ashen_Serpent
Summary: During a gentle snowfall, Caveira takes a chance to get closer to Buck.
Relationships: Sébastien "Buck" Côté/Taina "Caveira" Pereira
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Snowfall Steps

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Discord ficlets](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14744021) by [kiki_92](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiki_92/pseuds/kiki_92). 



> Damn, this was so much fun to write. I had to get up a couple of times to scream into my own hands this got so cute. I just really loved writing this one, even as I am trapped further in rare pair hell, which is saying something considering basically all Siege ships are rare pairs! I also got show off some history nerdery while writing this and finally got to put those required foreign language classes to use! Skál!
> 
> For the history: The Ypres Salient was one of the more active parts of the Western Front due to it’s strategic location and geography. Fighting there lasted almost the entirety of World War 1. Also, many unexploded munitions remain in France, often rediscovered by accident.
> 
> Cobras Fumantes is a name for the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, or Força Expedicinária Brasileira (FEB), during the Second World War. They fought in the Mediterranean Theater alongside the Allies and got their name from the sheer amount of time they waited before getting sent off, leading to the saying “It’s more likely for a snake to smoke a pipe than for the FEB to go the the front and fight.” The band Sabaton wrote a song about them, called Smoking Snakes.
> 
> For the French: C’est belle- it’s beautiful  
> Oui- Yes  
> Marche avec moi?- Walk with me?  
> Il neige.- It’s snowing.  
> Je sais.- I know.  
> Ma chérie- My dear
> 
> Before I forget: this was inspired by kiki_92’s Buck/Cav chapter in their Discord Ficlets. It is really cute and I’d recommend checking it out. There’s a lot of great little stories in that collection, so chances are you’ll find something you like! It should be linked under the ao3 “Inspired By” section.

The Ypres Salient was not a good place to be in November of 1914. Or 1915. Or the rest of the war for that matter, fuck this was depressing.

Caveira threw her book down on the bed with a huff before scrambling to find where she’d left off and place her bookmark before she lost track. She was over 120 pages in, damn it, she wasn’t about to re-slog through all of it without reason. Still, despite all the pointless human tragedy, she’d at least have a better understanding of Twitch’s stories of going out to the countryside and getting acquainted with the local bomb squad. And she’d have something besides work to talk about with Buck.

It had been more than a bit of an effort to try and start befriending him. She never was a people person and while she could play polite professional decent enough, it was more difficult to connect with coworkers, especially with her records following her. Nonetheless, her first attempts hadn’t gone badly, a compliment here, a bit of advice there, and Buck was always very kind and considerate, even when she was in an awful mood. Better still, he was a graceful loser, an absolute godsend considering how... rough she could get during a match. He was just so patient and understanding, even surprising her and Capitão in Brazilian Portuguese following a successful mission. The man had grown on her in the past years of working together and she’d wanted to return the kindness and potential friendship. So she’d been reading about one of, if not the, worst meat-grinders on the Western Front after hearing hat he was far from the first man in his family to serve in the military. Fuck, this was going to be a bitch to bring up in casual conversation.

A knock on the door shook her out of her thoughts. She quickly pulled on a sports bra and a shirt on before faking reading her book.

“Yeah? What do you want?”

A soft Québécois lilt answered her. “May I come in? Snow is falling and I’d like to invite you out.”

Caveira steeled her expression into something that wasn’t a goofy smile. “Sure. Door’s open.”

Buck opened the door with a bit more force than necessary, looking more than a little sheepish when he caught it before it could slam. He looked ready to apologize before Caveira saw his eyes happen upon her book, his face lighting up.

“Ah! The Western Front! A great place to start, especially given the documentation. Are you- well, I would say “Are you enjoying it?”, but it’s a little hard to have fun given the subject matter...” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck with pink rising on his cheeks.

Caveira shrugged. “It’s certainly uninformative. Never really learned too much about it in school. Focused a lot more on the second where we did more.”

Buck’s shoulders dropped and he released a shaky breath. “Cobras Fumantes, correct? Wait long enough and you get a mascot out of it.”

Caveira gave him a small smile. “More or less. You should ask Valk for the song she found on them. Great for cardio, especially in the later stretches.” She noticed Buck looking a little absent. “Remember something?”

Buck blinked, then went red, looking at the ceiling. “Oh! Uh, I’d- I’d never seen your hair down before... it’s, uh, c’est belle- very handsome. Becoming, I mean. Well-”

She decided to put him out of his misery. “You think it looks good.”

Buck nodded, still fascinated with her ceiling. “Oui.”

“Alright, then. Just say so next time, it’s not rude to compliment someone, fuck, I’d say the shirt your wearing looks nice. Not like the world’s going to end because you were decent to a coworker.”

Over her book, she watched him turn even more red with a grin, his frowning blush nicely contrasting the warm gray flannel shirt peaking out from underneath his black winter coat. Right, he had mentioned snow.

“You said something about snow, right? Planning something with friends?”

He perked up. “Yes! It’s lovely outside and I was hoping to share the view with you.”

Jesus Christ he was such a sweetheart. Caveira took a slow breath, placing her book aside. “Alright, then. Let me put a jacket on.”

Caveira took her time getting dressed for the cold, enjoying Buck’s sputtering and attempts to carry on conversation by himself. By the time she finished lacing her boots, a dopey grin was on his face. As she stood up, he faked a cough and hardened his face into something professional, gesturing towards the door.

“Ready to head out? It is cold enough to snow.”

Caveira openly looked him up and down. “I’d say we’re both fine. Try to keep up.”

In spite of her words, she intentionally slowed down her walking speed, making it easier for Buck to keep pace. He was really adorable like this, barely contained excitement betrayed by slightly-too-fast speech and the way he kept smiling at her. It did help that he looked like a modern lumberjack, flannel shirt at the ready and beard wild from the woods. Or rather, a bit more tame than that, appearing recently trimmed with a pleasant cedar scent that reminded her of a successful mission in the Canadian taiga. A new conditioner, maybe? She couldn’t remember it from the last time she interrogated him during a match. Fuck it, might as well ask.

“New hair product? You smell cedary.”

Buck almost missed a step but quickly caught up. “Oh? Do you like it? My older brother recommended I try beard oil. He said it would make affection nicer for the other person. Less scratches.”

Caveira resisted the urge to reach out and pet his face. “It’s a whole hell of a lot nicer than whatever Jenson’s doing.” She kept quiet for a moment, trying to get her words in order. “I think it suits you.”

Buck beamed at her and she had to actively watch the floor to avoid tripping over her own feet. Soon enough they reached one of the base’s exits, leading to a training field. Buck opened the door for her and she gasped out loud.

The field before her was draped in a blanked of white, shining snow untouched and resting as if trapped inside a masterpiece photograph. Snow piled up on the obstacle course in thick layers, protected from melt by the overcast skies overhead. Large, fluffy snowflakes fell in slow motion, lazily drifting down into Caveira’s gloved hand. They were almost heavy and piled into little palm-top drifts, scattering like clumsy, weeks-old kittens when she blew them away.

Caveira smiled. 

Beside her, Buck held out a hand. “Marche avec moi?”

Caveira hesitates, not just out of concern for the untouched landscape. “Not just yet. I don’t know when I’ll get to see something like this again.”

Buck nodded and clasped his hands in front of himself, starring at the falling snow.

Caveira wasn’t sure how long she spent staring at the field before them, watching the snow continue to fall. The world outside was silent, only broken by the occasional song wind mulling around the unoccupied field. It might be gone tomorrow, vanished like it was just a daydream, with evidence of its existence nowhere outside of her memory.

She reached for Buck’s hand. “Ready.”

The first step into the field felt like a reality shattering, the snow crumpling beneath her boot more deafening than any gunshot. More snow gave way to her, the inelegant destruction only balanced by the gentle pressure of Buck’s hand holding hers. She felt clumps of snow softly impacting her jacket hood and turned to see soft snowfall resting on Buck’s hair and beard. It was almost too perfect with him, handsome as ever, fully embraced by the silent cold around them. In admiration of him and the snowfall, she spoke.

“Il neige.”

Buck gave her a soft smile. “Je sais.”

Caveira took his other hand into hers and just smiled, pointless, stupid happiness welling up inside her. She wanted to stand there with him for an eternity and take joy in the fact that _he_ invited _her_ to see a snowfall. She brought her hands up to her chest and sighed, her smile never leaving her face.

Buck raised one of his hands in hers and gently pressed it against her face. She leaned into the contact, rubbing a soft circle on the back of his hand. Buck gave her an almost sad smile, concern flashing across his face.

“Ma chérie, your face is turning at little blue. I think we should go back inside.”

Caveira just nodded, ignoring the burning cold that aches into way into her face and limbs. The pain was worth seeing the snow and his smiled, and the way he rubbed feeling back into her hands certainly wasn’t a deterrent.

Once back inside, Buck lead her to the kitchen and got to work melting chocolate and warming milk before adding the two together. The mix gave Caveira an idea as Buck added whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on top before handing it to her in a mug.

“None for yourself? I thought you adored this more than coffee.” Caveira took a sip, enjoying it even as the too-hot drink burned down her throat.

Buck shrugged, waving off his blush. “You need it more than me. Besides, it’s nice to do things for other people.”

“If you say so.” Okay, it was even better now that she wasn’t burning her mouth. “If you’d like, I could take you out for hot chocolate. May’s still has her solstice specials available.” 

Buck’s mouth hung open for a moment. “Of- of course! I’d love that.”

Her grin grew playfully sharp. “Great. Next Thursday work? My treat.”

“Yes! I’m clear then.”

Caveira smiled, savoring the hot chocolate. “Glad to hear that, Sébastien. I’ll see you then.” She slowly finished the drink, enjoying it while it lasted before setting the mug aside and making it stand. She looked him in the eyes and held his hands in hers.

“Thank you for the invitation. It was beautiful.” She kissed the backs of his hands.” And for the record, I do really enjoy that shirt on you. It brings out the way you blush.”

Buck looked embarrassed but joyful when she stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. His smile was open and his eyes were bright.

“See you Thursday, chérie. Try not to get lost in the snow!”

“It’s cute you thing a little thing like the weather could stop me. I’ll see you then.”

Caveira left the kitchen with a skip in her step, already planning how to best sweep him off his feet. 


End file.
